What it's about: After Bert and Betty Brown adopt pocket-sized angel Angelino, their lives -- and the lives of almost everyone they meet -- become a bit better and a lot weirder. But who is Angelino? And why are villains trying kidnap him?

Read it for: goofy humor (it's hard not to laugh at a character named Professor Smellie from Blistering-on-the-Fen) paired with deep ideas about good and evil.

What it's about: After finding intriguing clues in her grandmother's attic, bookish 12-year-old Candice and her new friend Brandon search for buried treasure in a small Southern town haunted by its own ugly history of racism.

Why you might like it: Switching between Candice's present-day story and her grandmother's in 1957, this suspenseful puzzle mystery encourages you, just like the characters, to piece the clues together.

What it's about: Desperate to be free of his cruel, controlling grandma, Happy "Hap" Conklin agrees to sell her to an alien reality show, not realizing that the fine print allows the aliens to take his entire family.

Who it's for: From his inventor dad to his uniquely talented sisters, Hap's family is odd yet lovable, and fans of zany science fiction will enjoy following Hap on his hilarious, cartoon-illustrated rescue mission.

Celebrating Poetry

April is National Poetry Month in the U.S., but these books of poetry are worth celebrating at any time of year.

What it is: Grouped by seasons, the poems in this collection are only a few lines long, but when those lines are written by poets like Langston Hughes, Carl Sandburg, and Joyce Sidman, they cast a powerful spell.

Why you might like it: Just as powerful are the bold, vivid illustrations, which are sure to fuel your imagination.